The Sorrows are considered perhaps to be the archetypal freakbeat band. They were formed in 1963 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

The band was formed in 1963, and toured Germany for a month, playing several sets each day. The band's first recording was a version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", recorded in Joe Meek's bathroom. They were signed by Pye subsidiary Piccadilly Records, and began working with producer John Schroeder.

The Sorrows released their first album, Take a Heart, in 1965 on Piccadilly. The Sorrows were at the time the hardest, most aggressive and contemporary R&B band of that time, although later this brand of music was eventually termed "Freakbeat". One of the most overlooked bands of the British Invasion, the Sorrows offered a tough brand of R&B-infused rock that recalled The Pretty Things (though not as R&B-oriented) and The Kinks (though not as pop-oriented).

Their hallmarks are boomy, raucous vocals, lightning fast guitar solos and frantic thudding drums. The musicianship was excellent, yet the band failed to achieve much success, probably because their brand of Garage rock/Freakbeat was simply too far ahead of its time.^{[citation needed]} After receiving some minor chart positions on the UK Singles Chart, Phil Packham and Don Fardon left the band. Fardon then went on to have a UK chart hit with "Indian Reservation". Wez Price took Phil Packam's place on bass guitar, whilst Roger Lomas became lead guitarist and Pip Whitcher focused on vocals. The band relocated to Italy and received minor success. Following the band's break-up Whitcher and Lomas went on to record at Air Studios under Mike Sullivan.

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and former marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

Dickinson began his career in music fronting small pub bands at school and University, including Styx (not the American band of the same name) in 1976, Speed, (1977–1978), and Shots in early 1979. He then joined the band Samson later in 1979, where he gained some popularity under the stage name, "Bruce Bruce." He left Samson in 1981 to join Iron Maiden as their new vocalist, replacing Paul Di'Anno, and debuting on their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. During his first tenure in the band, they issued a series of high impact releases, resulting in Dickinson gaining worldwide fame, and becoming one of the most acclaimed heavy metal vocalists of all time.

Dickinson quit Iron Maiden in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career, being replaced by Blaze Bayley, which saw him experiment with a wide variety of heavy metal and rock styles. Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with guitarist Adrian Smith, with whom he released four subsequent studio albums. Since his return to Iron Maiden, Dickinson issued one further solo record in 2005, Tyranny of Souls. He is the older cousin of Rob Dickinson, former lead singer of British alternative rock band Catherine Wheel. His son, Austin, is the lead singer in metalcore band Rise to Remain. On 19 July 2011, Dickinson was presented with an honorary music doctorate from Queen Mary College, in honour of his contribution to the music industry.